Protector of the Four Kings
by The Hungriest Of Bears
Summary: "I thought you were just a simple merchant!" The man gasped out to her. She smiled down at him before finishing him off, "I am."   Zoro X O.C.
1. Chapter 1

hello, uhmm well. I have decided to neglect my other fics once again and start another one. I feel so bad for doing this but i really wanted to do a One Piece fic after I read _Diary of a Potato Bag_ by nothing new in this world. So here it is. Also i would like to give a very large THANK YOU to my friendSou desu ka. Meh. Kami korosu who helped me write and edit this. Ok I think that is enough talk let the story begin!

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><p>"Name?" A rough voice nearly growled out to a young woman sitting down in front of a metal table.<p>

"Shitennou, Mamoru." The young woman replied happily, not really caring what the man, a marine, thought of her.

"Hunh, really." The marine asked her, his voice dripping with sarcasm, annoyed at her cheeriness.

The woman, Mamoru, tilted her head to the side in confusion, "My, you seem to be in a terrible mood today Mister Marine."

The marine scoffed at her, "Tch, whatever, say what you wish it isn't going to change anything. Occupation?"

The woman tucked a lock of wavy black hair behind her left ear, before smiling brightly at him again. "I'm just a simple merchant."

The marine, a man with white hair and what seemed like a permanent scowl on his face, sighed angrily. "Yes, because a person that has traveled all four seas and the whole Grand Line can be considered simple indeed."

She giggled and smiled again, "Ok, so I may not be _all_ that simple, but I believe I'm simple enough."

The marine sighed again blowing out a large cloud of smoke in the process, seeing as he was smoking two cigars at once. "Why were you with the Strawhat Pirates?"

She looked around the room boredly, not really interested in the conversation, "Oh there was no real reason other than the fact that they owe me a large sum of money and that they were kinda interesting."

"I find it hard to believe that that's all there is to it."

Mamoru's dark brown eyes lit up, as if she was finally interested in the marine, "Really? And why is that?"

The marine leaned forward, closer to Mamoru, crossing his arms and scowling even deeper at her. "Because on your ship the '_Northern King'_ we found Kairoseki, devil fruit, and several other very rare and _very_ illegal items stashed underneath regular wares.."

Mamoru didn't even bat an eyelash, she only smiled at the marine.

Hiding his annoyance from her lack of reaction the white haired marine continued his report of the evidence he and his team found on her ship. "I also found several records of transactions between Halcyon and many well known pirates and other outlaws in _your_ room."

Her smile didn't falter in the slightest, it just seemed to mock him, "And just what does that make me?"

"I believe that you are affiliated with the 'Lord of the Black Market' or maybe even Halcyon himself." He leaned even further across the table, getting in her face. "But no matter what you are, you have valuable information. And you _will_ tell me everything you know."

She could barely breath.

The marine stared at her in disbelief, he couldn't understand her! She was laughing! He just accused her of being affiliated with one of the most notorious Black Market merchants in the world and she was laughing as if it was the funniest thing she had ever heard. It pissed him off to no end. "And just _what_ is so funny?"

Getting her last giggles out, Mamoru wiped tears out of her eyes and leaned back in her chair, "Well, you think that _I,_ a simple merchant, am an accomplice of Halcyon's? Maybe even the 'Lord' himself?"

"Yes, and? How is _any_ of that funny?"

Mamoru simply smiled as if all of this was a game, "If I told you that my game wouldn't be half as fun, now would it?"

She was messing with him. "Tch." The marine got up and left the interrogation room and yelled at another, lower ranking, marine to lock her up in a cell.

Still smiling, Mamoru just let the marine take her to the cell and sat on the ground leaning against the wall, no restraints on her at all except the single iron chain on her right ankle.

From her spot against the wall she yelled at the white haired marine, "Oh by the way! Your accusation? It's not to far off the mark."

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><p>About a day later, Mamoru was back in the interrogation room being questioned by the same white haired marine.<p>

Growing angrier by the second the marine rubbed his temples with one hand before trying to get some kind of information out of the black haired woman before he killed her out of frustration.

"I'll ask one more time." He growled out, "Why did you join the Strawhat Pirates after the events that occurred in Arabasta?"

Mamoru tilted her head to one side, deciding if she wanted to answer the marine, who she found was named Smoker, truthfully or just mess with him again.

"Well?" Smoker's voice was dripping with anger making Mamoru come to a decision quickly.

Thinking for another second, Mamoru decided to answer truthfully, "Well, I had arrived in Arabasta around the same time the Strawhats did and at the time I had no idea who they were, well, that is until one of them stole a large amount of supplies from my stall..."

~~~~~~Flash back to a few months ago in Nanohana~~~~~~~

Not long after Mamoru had arrived in Nanohana she had set up set up a small stand and began to sell whatever she had left from North Blue, the area she last went to before coming to the Grand Line. After an hour or two many of her products were sold, she was about to take a quick lunch break, when a man at least a year younger than her with blonde hair came up to the stall.

His head was down, looking at the food. After a few moments Mamoru asked him if he needed help. "Hi there, do you see anything you like?

The young man looked up, and Mamoru tried to shake the dizziness from looking at his curly eyebrow. Before she was able to pull herself together completely the young man, Sanji as he introduced himself as, began to gush at her 'beauty'.

Thoroughly weirded out, Mamoru calmed him down and asked again if he needed help.

"Ah, well I'm the head chef for a ship and I'm just looking 'round for ingredients that catch my eye."

Mamoru nodded in understanding and helped him by explaining where certain things had come from, what they were, and the common ways they were cooked. Soon Sanji had his arms full of food and was about to pay when suddenly there was a ruckus down the street. Mamoru and Sanji both looked to see what was happening. A boy wearing a straw hat ran down the street followed by a large group of marines.

Sanji cursed under his breath and ran off, toward the docks, the unpaid food in hand.

Shocked, Mamori closed her stall quickly and began to chase after the curly-browed thief, yelling things at him trying to make him stop.

"Wait! You need to pay dammit!"

She chased him all the way to the docks where he boarded a ship with a jolly roger that had a vey familiar straw hat on it. The ship was about to leave, so she pulled a fruit out of her ever present bag. Before throwing it she yelled at the curly-browed man.

"YOU NEED TO PAY DAMMIT!"

She threw the fruit with as much force as possible towards the surprised man, but as fate would have it, she missed. The fruit, which was actually a bomb, exploded all over the green haired man next to Sanji. The man, Zoro, had rotten fruit all over his face and clothes. He looked royally pissed.

Wincing slightly Mamoru attempted to apologize, "Oops sorry! But YOU NEED TO PAY, STUPID DARTBOARD BROW!"

As she readied herself to throw more fruit, Mamoru noticed a figure in a small boat below the ship. The figure was 'Fire Fist' Ace.

Deciding she could collect later, Mamoru quickly retreated back to her stall and began to clean up. She returned to her ship and prepared to follow the 'Strawhat crew' until they paid in full or died.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back to Interrogation room~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That's it? You followed them because they stole some food from your stall?"

Mamoru laughed a bit before leaning back in her chair, "Well, when you say it like that it sounds stupid, but I was very serious back then, I fully intended to make them pay or die."

Smoker shook his head in disbelief, "Unbelievable. You followed them around Arabasta just because they stole a few things from you."

"Haha, well yes I suppose I did. But it wasn't just a few things, it was enough food to last their crew a whole week. Sanji took a large amount of food from me I lost quite a bit of money."

Obviously annoyed at her answer, Smoker moved on to the next question, "How did you end up traveling with the Strawhats?"

Smiling ,the same smile as before, Smoker noticed. Mamoru avoided the question, quickly losing interest in their conversation, "I don't feel like answering you anymore. Maybe tomorrow, neh, Mister Marine?"

The smile worked and pissed Smoker off, "UGH! Fine. Tomorrow. It's not like you're going anywhere anyways."

Yelling at another marine to lock Mamoru up, Smoker left the room, a billowing cloud of smoke following him.

Sitting against the wall in her cell yet again, Mamoru smiled brightly to no one. "I did say tomorrow, but I'm bored of this place already. Perhaps it is time for a change of scenery?"


	2. Change of scenery

Hello~ So here's chapter two! Thank you for the wait~ I'm sorry if some of it is a little weird though, my friend and I haven't had as much time to proof-read this as much as I would like because of school and such. Soooo please be kind and ignore any little boo boos here and there. Also~ A big HUGE thank you to the following people~ **Jaxx Ren, Piacine, and BookwormSars!** I'm sorry if I missed anyone, I'll keep on trying to thank everyone who likes this fic, anything makes me really happy~!

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><p>About a day later Mamoru was in the interrogation room yet again, an annoyed Smoker in front of her.<p>

"I will only ask once," Smoker's voice was dripping in anger, "How did you end up traveling with the Straw Hats?"

Mamoru was uninterested in their conversation, so she was looking around boredly not planning on answering Smoker. "You know Mister Marine, you have a really short temper. We haven't even been talking for five minutes and already you're mad at me."

He groaned, "just shut up and answer the question will you?"

She giggled, "That wouldn't work out now would it?"

He glared at her, "What wouldn't?"

"Weellll, you said to 'shut up and answer the question'" She tried to imitate his deep voice, but failed miserably. "If I shut up then I can't answer the question. It wouldn't work out."

Smoker growled in frustration, rubbing his temples he mumbled something along the lines of, "Stupid woman."

Mamoru tilted her head to the side yet again, "I'm not stupid, on the contrary, I'm actually quite smart Mister Marine. Though, some of these people you have employed _are_ stupid, just saying."

He glared at her as if to say what-the-hell-are-you-taking-about? She just giggled and continued to smile at him.

Sighing Smoker began to ask his next question, "Why were-"

Mid question, Smoker was cut off by a loud knock on the door. Growling he got up and answered the door, "What?"

A marine behind the door cringed at Smoker's harsh tone, "We- we've arrived sir! Fleet Admiral Sengoku has ordered all high ranked marines to the front line sir!"

Smoker sighed again, "Alright, fine, take her to her cell then." He looked over his shoulder to Mamoru, "We aren't finished yet Shitennou!"

She smiled at him and waved, "Okay~"

In her cell, Mamoru waited until everyone was preoccupied with the fighting. After about an hour, all she could hear was yelling and many large explosions. She thought she heard someone yell out 'Whitebeard!', but she wasn't sure.

Looking around just to be safe first, Mamoru took the chain, in her hands and broke it easily. Smirking, she stood and walked to the bars of her cell, allowing her powers to form partially in her arms, she broke the bars with ease as well.

Looking around one last time she began to walk, looking for any kind of exit, she found herself to be hopelessly lost somewhere within the ship.

"Geez, how big is this freaking ship?" She looked down several halls, never finding an exit in sight.

Running a hand through her hair, she closed her eyes and began to take deep breaths. With each breath her hair began to change from black and wavy to medium length blue-tinted silver, her skin became paler, and her body became thin and sleek. With one final breath she opened her eyes, no longer were they brown, now they were a bright green color like blades of grass that were given lots of sun and water.

She smirked, silently using her heightened senses to find a way out of the large ship. Within the next five minutes she found the exit to the deck and slid into the shadows, away from Smoker and anyone that could stop her. Once she was safe in the shadows she reverted back to her natural form of black hair and brown eyes.

"Now, where is that dork?" She looked all around the battle field, spotting several famous faces like Ivankov the revolutionary and "Hawkeyes" Mihawk. Finally, her eyes landed on the platform where Portgas D. Ace was waiting to be executed. Not far from him was her idiot of a captain "Strawhat" Luffy fighting to save his beloved brother from his imminent doom.

"ACE!" Luffy was on the platform now and Ace was unshackled allowing the two brothers to escape together. The two had made it to ground when Sakazuki attacked. Protecting his brother Ace sacrificed himself and was punched through by Sakazuki's magma fist.

"ACE!" This time Luffy's voice was full of despair as he held his brother in his final moments. Realizing she had to step in or Luffy would die, Mamoru transformed into her _Heart_ form and flew to Luffy scooping him up in her red scaled arms. She was in her second strongest form, the flashiest, and best form for attacking.

"The hell? Is that a dragon?" She could hear the surprised voices of marines and pirates alike as she flew towards the water.

"Bring Mr. Strawhat here!" A deep voice yelled at her, "I'm a doctor!"

Looking down, there was a man wearing a spotted hat and a yellow shirt with a smiley on it. She landed next to him, his crew stepped back first before rushing to take Luffy from her arms and bringing him inside the yellow submarine.

She transformed again, turning to the man in yellow with pleading eyes, "Help him. Please."

The blood was pouring out of Luffy at a rapid rate, all of the blood reminded Mamoru of another time when he was losing blood like this. It was in Arabasta, the outskirts of Rain Dinners, the base of Crocodile or Mr. Zero. He lost to him and his blood was seeping into the sands of the desert.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Arabasta~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She had been ready to leave Arabasta when she saw him. He was bleeding away into the sand, a gaping hole in his stomach. She ran to him, "What the hell happened to you?"

Gently pulling his body out of the sand she tried to stop the bleeding, seeing that the blood wouldn't stop she looked around for anyone who could help. There was a woman, Miss All Sunday as she was called when making deals for the infamous 'Mr. Zero', she was walking towards them.

"It seems that you are in need of some help there." She was calm as she glanced at Luffy behind her cowboy hat.

Mamoru only nodded, not liking the aura Miss All Sunday gave off.

Miss All Sunday smirked, she looked up into the sky, another figure appeared it was closing in on them. "It seems that you'll get all the help you'll need in a moment. Farewell."

"Stop!" Pell, one of the guards of the palace, landed next to Mamoru.

Miss All Sunday paused for a moment to address Pell, " You are in no condition to fight me, you should put all of your attention on Mr. Strawhat there."

Pell seemed surprised for a moment before he knelt down next to Luffy and Mamoru, assessing his wounds. "I'll take care of him. Thank you for helping him Miss, I can take it from here."

Carefully, she gave Luffy to Pell, "Please take good care of him."

He nodded before taking off, Luffy on his back.

Mamoru sat there in the sand for several more moments, staring at the red stains on her hands and the sand beneath her. Taking a deep breath she stood dusting her hands off on her pants. She gave one more glance to the desert where Luffy had been laying only moments before.

"Good luck Strawhat."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Marineford~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Calmly the man in yellow lead Mamoru inside of the submarine, the door locking behind them, and the submarine sinking away into the deep sea.


	3. Pieces of trash

Well here's another chapter hope you all like it! :)

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><p>The submarine had been traveling through the waters for several hours, Luffy's condition was still unknown, and the man in the yellow shirt, Trafalgar Law, was still in the operating room tending to him. Mamoru was sitting in the hallway outside of the operating room, her head in her hands shaking back and forth, worry was evident all throughout her being. She had been sitting in the same spot for hours, ever since they had left Marineford, she ignored anyone who tried to see if she was alright.<p>

Finally after hours of waiting the door to the operating room opened to reveal the same yellow shirt except covered in blood this time.

Mamoru shot up, "Is he alive?" Worry was still etched all over her face, she was even shaking a little. "Please, please say he's alive."

Law wiped his hands on a towel, "He'll be fine, as long as he gets enough rest." Relief flooded her face, however she was still shaking slightly, "But, he is most likely in shock from his brother's death. If he starts to lose it when he wakes up, don't hesitate to stop him what so ever. If he thrashes around too much too early he _will_ die."

She nodded in understanding, "I see. Thank you for helping him, however" The look in her eyes turned from relief to a hard glare of knowing. "What is your price?"

Law smirked, "Now why do you ask that?"

She crossed her arms, "You are known as the 'Surgeon of Death' a man who shows no mercy. Men like you do not do things out of the kindness of your heart."

He laughed coldly, "It seems that you do know me, or rather men like me, quite well Miss. Mamoru, but the only thing that I ask of you is to answer some questions for me, perhaps over dinner?"

"That depends, what kind of questions?"

"I only wish to know you better Miss. Mamoru. Nothing more."

She sighed in resignation, "I suppose there is no way to avoid it, I will answer your questions, if they are within reason."

"That's all I ask. Follow me please, I'm sure you're hungry." He discarded the bloody towel and began to walk down the hall, Mamoru close behind him. "How long have you been waiting for me?"

"I was not waiting for you, I was waiting for Luffy, but you came out "

Law was surprised by her loyalty, " How long have you been a part of his crew?" They had made it to the galley, he led her to a table that was off on its own, it was obvious that is was Law's personal table. They sat down across each other, Law with an expectant smile, Mamoru with a look of unease.

"I joined the Strawhats not too long ago, I met them when they were in Arabasta, but I didn't join them until I met them again at a place called Jaya."

She remembered the time when she finally agreed to join them well, before Jaya she had only run into them at their stops believing they were just a bunch of annoying rookies. When she met them for the final time at Jaya she was sucked into their tornado of trouble and ended up helping them clear some man's name and joining Luffy's crew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flashback- Jaya~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mamoru stood across from several merchants, she was in her body form, she was more compact, her hair was an earthy brown color, she was dealing with their demands with practiced ease. "I'm sorry to say that your request for an audience with my lord must be declined. Lord Halcyon does not meet with just any merchant."

A middle aged man with black hair spoke first, "Then how do we know that we're dealing with the _real_ Halcyon?"

Another, younger man spoke next, "Yeah! How do we know that you aren't some fraud?"

Mamoru rolled her eyes, "Fine, if you do not believe that I am truly Lord Halcyon's messenger, then I will take my business somewhere else." She gave a short bow to the men, "Have a nice day gentlemen."

As she began to walk away she heard them yell, "Wait! Stop! We. We'll do business with you!"

She smirked before turning around, "Wonderful."

As she was finishing the final transactions, loud, raucous laughter filled the tavern she and the merchants stood in. Looking to the bar, she saw three members of the Strawhat crew, the captain, the green haired man, and the orange haired girl. She could hear them talking about a 'Sky Island', laughing slightly she turned back to the merchants to finish her job.

Her attention was brought back to the Strawhats when the Bellamy pirates, the ones that were laughing the hardest at them, began to beat the life out of them. With the merchants gone she had nothing else to do, but watch as Strawhat and the green haired man got hit again and again while they just sat there.

After a few moments she couldn't stand it anymore, she stepped forward and stopped the men hitting them, "Quit it."

One of the men yelled at her, "Get out of the way bitch!" He swung at her, ducking she sidestepped, and punched him in the stomach effectively knocking the air out of him. She began to go after the other man when the green haired man stopped her.

"Stop. We don't need your help." He said, "They aren't worth it anyways."

She scoffed at him, "Tch, don't flatter yourself, these idiots have been bugging me since I got here. I can't have trash like them soiling my work place."

A cold, almost insane laughter filled the tavern, "Trash huh?" Bellamy himself stood from the back, "The only trash here are those sad excuses for pirates. The lost city of gold?! The emerald city?! The great Treasure of 'One Piece'?! The fools who go looking for their 'dream treasure' cannot notice what's in front of them! In this era of the sea the ones that do not have real strength...are the ones killed by their own imaginations!"

Mamoru looked him up and down, "Now I understand."

Bellamy smirked, "Do you now?"

Nodding Mamoru turned back to the Strawhats and sat down next to them, "yes, I understand perfectly, a pirate who sees dreaming as useless isn't worth my time, let alone theirs."

Sarkies, a man with long silver hair, stood up with rage, "What are you blathering about you bitch?!"

Mamoru didn't bother to reply, she simply sat there next to Luffy as Bellamy and his crew began to beat on all three of them.

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><p>"Why did you stay with us?" Nami asked, as she dabbed at the cut on Mamoru's forehead, after Bellamy and his crew got tired of beating them the four of them returned to Cricket's home, "You didn't have to step in like that."<p>

Mamoru winced a bit before sighing, " I believe in the same things as your captain. You should always have a dream to strive for, without it what can you live for?"

Nami shook her head not understanding her logic, "But why didn't you all fight back? I know Zoro and Luffy could have easily taken those guys, but they just sat there."

Mamoru laughed a bit, "Let's just say that the Bellamy pirates weren't worth our time. That's the easiest explanation."

Nami pouted, "I still don't get it."

Mamoru laughed, "It's alright Miss Nami, I'm sure you'll understand soon, especially if you stay with that captain of yours." She stood and began to leave, "Thank you for your kindness."

Nami tried to stop her, "Wait! I haven't finished yet!" But Mamoru had already left the house to talk to Luffy.

Luffy sat outside, bandages covering his skin here and there. Mamoru stood beside him, "I hear you're planning on going to Sky Island."

Luffy nodded, "yup, we're going to clear Nolan's name."

Mamoru smirked, "Always the hero huh Stawhat?"

"Nope." He said bluntly, "by the way, do I know you?"

Mamoru laughed, "No, I guess you don't." She bowed to him, "I am Shitennou, Mamoru. But you can just call me Mamoru. I work as a simple merchant traveling from place to place."

Luffy smiled, "Monkey D. Luffy I'm gonna be King of the Pirates and find One Piece!"

She smiled, "That's a big dream you got there kid. Do you think the future king of pirates could use a first class merchant?"

"First class merchant?"

Mamoru smirked, "yup, I know a certain 'Lord' who could use a new client. But until then, do you think I could join you on your adventure to Sky island?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End Flash back~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mamoru took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she finished her tale, " I'm glad that I joined Luffy. He's amazing, an idiot, but amazing."

Law leaned back in his chair, "Yeah, but there's still something that I want to know."

She looked at him confused, "What?"

He rested his head on his hand, "Who are you really?"

She looked even more confused, "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Well. You say that you've lived on the Grand Line on your own, working as a merchant traveling from place to place. To do that you'd have to be quite strong or know all the right people, but even then it'd still be difficult to live on your own. Also, you were held prisoner in a marine ship for more than a week, normally they would just throw you in prison and question you there, but instead they had you with Smoker so he could keep an eye on you. All of this makes me believe that you aren't exactly who you say you are, I think you're much stronger than you let on."

Mamoru's expression went from one of confusion to one of amazement, like a child who found something amazing, "Wow~ Mister Law you're really smart to have caught all of that." She had cocked her head to the side, a huge smile plastered on her face.

Law smirked, "Thank you, but please answer my question."

Mamoru puffed out her cheeks and shook her head, "Nope."

"Why not?"

She continued to smile as she leaned back in her chair, "If I tell you my secret, your reaction won't nearly be as grand if I were to wait just a bit longer."

Law sighed, he tried to persuade her, but the food had finally arrived and she had begun to stuff her face effectively taking her attention away from Law.


	4. Birdie

And yet another chapter, hope you all like it! :)

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><p>The Heart Pirates had finally reached the Island of women, albeit after a rather annoying discussion with the queen of the island who had been chasing them in a marine ship practically scaring the crap out of all who were in the submarine. Mamoru had gotten little to no sleep, she spent most of her time with Luffy and talking to Law, who was still trying to goad some more information out of her. Once Rayleigh had arrived she spent several hours talking to him privately.<p>

"I think I should go to the New World Mister Ray." Mamoru told the Dark King, with a sad look on her face.

He nodded, "I think that would be good for you and Halcyon. But why do you seem so sad about it?"

She looked back at the yellow submarine, "I don't really want to leave Luffy on his own, but I need to get stronger, _Halcyon_ needs to get stronger."

Rayleigh laughed, "Don't worry about Luffy, he'll be fine, I plan on taking him under my wing. He needs to learn how to control his Haki." When he saw that Mamoru still looked sad he slapped her back, nearly knocking her over, "Come now Mamoru! He'll be fine! He's a strong kid, just like his father. And I'm sure you're worried about that swordsman right?"

Mamoru flushed a crimson red and smacked Rayleigh's hand away, "I am not! That idiot can get himself killed for all I care!"

Rayleigh laughed even harder, "Of course he can!" When he calmed down he gave Mamoru a reassuring smile, " Don't worry about Luffy, I'll take good care of him, you go back to Sabaody you're ship is there, hidden in grove 46. Go to the New world and and learn something for once!"

Mamoru scoffed, "Fine, but I swear Mister Ray. If my ship has been stolen or I hear that Luffy is dead while I'm in the New World, I'm going to come back and beat the living hell out of you. Got it?!" After she threatened him she walked back to the submarine to find Law.

Rayleigh stood there in surprise before bursting out in laughter yet again.

"You wish to come with me back to Sabaody?" Law asked Mamoru, who sat across from him and Bepo. "Why?"

"My ship is there, I plan on going to the New World until Luffy is well enough." She replied, her face calm.

"I see, and what of your other crew mates?"

"We will all meet at Sabaody whenever Luffy is ready."

"Ah, well then you are welcome to join me in the New World Miss Mamoru. If you so wish that is."

Mamoru smiled, "Thank you for such a wonderful offer, but I must decline. I'm afraid my business in the New World requires me to be alone."

Law shrugged, "I understand, we'll be leaving at the end of the week. Be ready or we leave without you."

~~~~~~~~~~~ The end of the week ~~~~~~~~~~

Luffy was finally awake and no longer rampaging through the forest, he stood with Rayleigh and Jimbei as the Heart Pirates and Mamoru got ready to leave.

Luffy gave Mamoru a hug, "Don't forget to come back to Sabaody in two years!"

She smiled, "I won't. I promise. You better train hard Luffy or I'll have to join Mister Law."

Law scoffed, Luffy just laughed, "Of course I will! I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates remember?! I have to be strong enough to beat everyone!"

She laughed, "That's right."

"It's time to go Miss Mamoru." Law said as he walked to the submarine.

She nodded, "Well. I guess this is goodbye, I'll see you in two years Captain. Rayleigh. Jimbei." she nodded to the other two men before giving Luffy one last hug before she entered the submarine.

Luffy watched the Submarine as it sunk into the water and disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Two days later- Sabaody~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mamoru shook Law's hand, "Thank you for everything Mister Law. It was a pleasure meeting you."

Law smirked, "it was an honor Miss Mamoru, my offer still stands you know."

She smiled, "Thank you, but my mind is made up. If we ever meet again in the New World, I'll be happy to do business with you, but nothing more."

He shrugged, "Worth a try. I'd be happy to do business with you as well. Goodbye Miss Mamoru."

She bowed, "Goodbye Mister Law." Walking away she could hear Law yelling at his crew.

After about an hour of walking and buying supplies Mamoru made it to grove 46. She spent the next half hour searching for her ship, the _Northern King_, she finally found it hidden in a small alcove in the mangroves.

"Why hello there sweetie, it's been too long." she said as she got on the coated ship. She began to put her supplies away and prepare the ship for its voyage to Fishman Island. As she walked around she was bombarded by memories of her adventures with the Strawhats. Memories of a certain swordsman kept plaguing her as she began to cast off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Flashback- The road to Water Seven ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, tell me again. _Why_ are you here?" Mamoru stood in front of Zoro who was dozing off on the deck.

He opened one eye, "I don't trust you."

She nodded, "I see, well if you're going to be staying on my ship you better help out. I'm not gonna take care of a freeloader."

Zoro shrugged, moving a bit to get more comfortable, "Fine with me."

Mamoru rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she walked back inside to her room. She checked her personal calendar and blanched. She ran back up to the deck and practically flipped Zoro over.

"Go back to your ship!" She yelled, pushing him closer and closer to the edge.

Zoro grunted and turned around making her stop pushing him, "No, I told you. I don't trust you. There's no way I'm going to just leave you alone."

Mamoru started to push him away again, "No, you have to leave! I have a client coming and he doesn't like when I'm around other pirates!" She kept on pushing him to the edge closest to Merry.

Zoro grabbed both of her wrists, making her stop and look in his eyes, "Calm down. Whoever is coming I'm sure we can handle him. Who's coming?"

"Oyaji..."She said and then after a moment, "White beard."

Zoro was awestruck, "White beard? Really? Why would he come to you? Didn't you say you were just a simple merchant?"

She shrugged, "Yeah, he was my Pa's client for a long time and I just inherited him I guess. Anyways, I would feel much more comfortable if you would at least go back to your ship. Marco, one of the commanders, is a bit possessive of me. I don't think he'd appreciate you being on my ship."

Zoro raised an eyebrow, " 'Possessive'? "

She sighed, "Yes, possessive." She gave him another push, "now go Mister Marimo. Tell your crew about Oyaji's arrival."

Once Zoro was back on the Merry, Mamoru went down to her supply room, after moving aside several of the larger boxes in the back she opened the door to a smaller room that had been hidden by the boxes. Going down the stairs she made a mental list of the things she would need.

'Let's see. A few Den den mushis. I'm sure Oyaji would like some more sake...' After she had grabbed all that she would need she returned topside, placing all of the items to the side of the deck. A faint ringing noise could be heard from her room, practically running she tore into her room and answered the Den den mushi.

"Hello?"

A deep voice, with a lazy back tone, answered her, "Hey there girlie. How've you been?"

Mamoru couldn't help but smile when she heard the familiar voice, "Birdie! I've been doing well, just got back from the Sky Island. It's amazing there, I wish you could have seen it. When are you and Oyaji coming by?"

Marco chuckled at her childish nickname for him, he loved talking to her whether it was over phone or in person, "Sky Island huh? How'd you get there girlie? Did ya sprout some wings? We should be near you in about an hour give or take. The whole crew is excited to see you."

Mamoru's smile grew bigger, "Haha I wish I could grow some wings like yours. I tagged along with the Strawhats. I've been sticking with them recently, never a boring moment with them."

Marco frowned a bit, "The Strawhats? You mean those rookies that stopped Old Crocodile? How'd you end up with them of all people?

She rolled her eyes, Marco's protective side was coming out, "Oh calm down Birdbrain, they're only a couple of green horns. I can handle them. And I met them in Arabasta, but I only joined up with them back in Jaya."

"Alright girlie, but if any of 'em hurt you just holler and I'll be there to kick their asses."

She couldn't help but laugh, "Birdie, I'll be fine, you need to stop worrying about me so much. I'm not helpless anymore."

Marco sighed, "I know girlie, but I still wish you would come and join Pops' crew so I would know you were ok."

It was Mamoru's turn to sigh, "Birdie, I've told you and Oyaji several times. I'm not joining your crew, the pirate life just isn't for me. I much prefer being a merchant and not having to fight all the time."

"I know girlie, but I don't like not knowing if you're safe or not. I just want to protect you Mamoru."

She chuckled, even though whenever he used her actual name instead of 'girlie' he was being serious, "That's almost funny, you want to protect the protector.*"

He gave a heavy sigh, "Mamoru."

"I'm sorry. I know you just want to keep me safe Birdie, but I love how I live. I can't just give up everything that I've worked so hard for." She paused for a moment before continuing, "Marco, being a merchant...being Halcyon is everything to me. You have to understand that."

There was a long moment of silence before a sigh was heard, "Alright girlie, but if you ever get hurt or in trouble, I better be the first one you call for help. Got it?"

She laughed a bit, "Yes sir. Mister Birdie."

Marco scoffed, "Brat. I'll see you in half an hour."

"Kay, bye Marco."

"Bye girlie."

Slowly she hung up the phone, and for several minutes she sat there staring at nothing and everything. There were footsteps down the hall, she didn't bother to look up.

"Hey, there's a ship in the distance." She looked to the doorway where the voice had come from, it was Zoro. "I'm sure they're expecting you to greet them as they come in."

She nodded and stood up, pausing for a bit she looked at Zoro's back, "Roronoa."

He stopped, surprised to hear his name from her, he turned around, "Yeah?"

She gave him a small smile and spoke with slow quiet words, "Do you think, when you come to trust me that is, you could..._Would_ you...protect me?"

He raised an eyebrow, he gave her a once over before sighing, "I would do anything to protect my Nakama." He then turned around and walked upstairs.

Mamoru stood there for a bit longer, a smile slowly creeping onto her face. She looked down in embarrassment, a huge smile on her face, before she ran up the stairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End Flashback ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By now the _Northern King_ was deep underwater, too far underwater for even the sun's rays to reach her. As she went deeper and deeper, Mamoru decided to make a call before she was out of range.

Grabbing her Den den mushi Mamoru called the one person she desperately needed talking to. After a few moments of ringing someone picked up.

"...Hello?" His voice sounded tired and coarse.

Mamoru smiled sadly, "Hi there Birdie..."

* * *

><p>* "protect the protector."* - Mamoru's name literally means 'protector' or 'to protect'<p> 


End file.
